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Traditional Chinese Medicine Needs Modernization
The traditional Chinese medicine industry itself is ailing and should speed up modernization, according to a report published by Sunday's Business Weekly.
The Chinese Traditional Medicine must also attach more importance to protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) to live up to the nation's high reputation, the report said.
To enter the international market, the traditional medicine industry should introduce state-of-art equipment to realize large-scale production and enhance quality control.
It is necessary for domestic medicine makers to operate in line with the industry's global standards in order to make their products more acceptable to foreign consumers, Xue Zhifu, a professor of the Development Center for Medical Science and Technology under the Ministry of Health.
He noted that few of traditional medicine compounds have been recognized by the health care insurance system in developed countries.
Chinese firms were shocked to learn that China, the originator of the Chinese traditional medicine, holds a small world market share of less than five percent in the US$16 billion a year traditional medicine sector.
The export of traditional medicine is on the rise in terms of
volume, but their value is decreasing. Customs statistics show
that 80 percent of China's medicine export are materials, while
fined traditional medicines, which offer a higher added value,
only make up 20 percent.
Foreign countries saw greater opportunities to cash in on the
cheap traditional medicine materials. They make almost 100 million
U.S. dollars each year by exporting to China drugs made with raw
materials imported from China.
Some experts are worried that home medicine makers lack the
consciousness to protect their IPRs. Some precious recipes of the
traditional Chinese medicine have been not only used by foreign
companies free of charge but patented by them.
"Strong protection and wise application of IPRs is prominent
for Chinese enterprises to achieve success in the world market,"
said Hui Yongzheng, vice-minister of Science and Technology.
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